Brick construction



July` 27, 1937. E. WALLACE ET AL- 21,087,931

BRICK CONSTRUCTION ,2 Sheecs-SheetI 1 l N V E TO RS Eugene ld/a//aaaav/'a l Wa//ace Filed March 6, 1956.

ATTORNEYS July 27,1937.; I WALLACE T'AL- 2,087,931

BRICK CONSTRUCTION Filed March e, 195e;` z sheets-sheet 2 Patented July27, 1937 UNITED STATES BRICK CONSTRUCTION Eugene Wallace and David A.Wallace, Detroit, Mich.; said Eugene Wallace assigner to said DavidWallace Application March 6, 1936, Serial No. 67,481

13 Claims.

This invention relates to means for attaching bricks or similar facingelements to the walls or supports of building.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide means forattaching bricks to a wall l or support so constructed that each brickis individually supported so that its position in the Wall is notdependent in any way upon the other l-bricks in the Wall. The means forsupporting "the bricks comprises clips and supporting means for theclips so constructed that the clips may be positioned to support bricksin symmetric rows according to the conventional brick wall patterns orthey may be arranged to support the bricks in positions providingirregular patterns for artistic panelling purposes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide brick supportingclips formed of spring steel, the clips being so constructed that the 90bricks may be quickly and easily inserted therein after the clips havebeen secured to a wall. After the bricks have been assembled in the wallmortar is placed therebetween and formsA a rigid body surrounding theclips so that there is very little, if any, possibility of the clipsbeing exed to permit withdrawal of the bricks therefrom. In addition,the clips are so constructed that any pressure tending to pull a bricktherefrom causes a ileXing action whichincreases the tenacity of theholding action of the clipswith respect to the bricks.

With the above and other ends in view the invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentalelevation of bricks assembled in a wall and supported by the presentclips;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section illustrating an insulation retaining support;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections illustrating the attachment of clips to theirsupports; s

Fig. 6 illustrates the application of the clips for 45 artisticpurposes;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a clip;

Fig. 8 is a section illustrating another form of clip;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section illustrating a modi- 50 ed supporting clip;

Fig. 10 is a section taken on the line Ill-ID of Fig. 9;

Figs. `11, l2, and 13 are sections illustrating another embodiment of aclip, Fig. 12 being taken 5,5 on the line l2--I2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 14 is a rear elevation of a wall panel;

Fig. 15 is a transverse section thereof; and

Fig. 16 is a section illustrating a clip directlyv attached to a wall.

Like characters of reference are employed 5 throughout to designatecorresponding parts.

Referring `to Figs. l and 2, the numeral l designates Wall sheetinghaving a plurality of spaced apart strap members 2 secured thereto bynails 3.

A layer 4 of insulating material is preferably 10 K interposed betweenthe strap members 2 and the sheeting l and covers the entire face of thelatter. Secured to the straps 2 at regularly spaced intervals are clips5 supporting compartively thin bricks 5. Although the bricks 6 areillustrated 15 as being of much smaller cross sectional thickness thanconventional bricks it will be understood that they are so formed forpurposes of economy only because the present support is suficientlystrong to carry the weight of such con- 20 ventional bricks if theyshould happen to be preferred.

The clips 5 are preferably formed of spring steel and have base portions'l secured to the strap members 2 by rivets 8. Raised arm portions 9 25extend outwardly from the base portions l a greater distance than theedge surface of the bricks 6, the extending portions 9 being bentoutwardly toy form arms l?! with inwardly bent terminals il forengagement with surfaces of 30 the bricks. The natural resiliency of theclip so constructed forces the terminals ll into engagement with thebrick surfaces and in this respect attention is directed to the factthat the terminals Il are not normal to the adjacent surfaces 35 of thebricks, but are angularly disposed with respect thereto. The angularityof the terminals l l provides for engagement of a sharp edge thereofwith the bricks which materially increases the tenacity'of the holdingaction. 4,0

The clip shown in Fig. 2 has the arms lll di- Verging. Fig. 3illustrates the conditions of the arms reversed, that is, the arms Illaon the clips 5a shown in Fig, 3 converge. The terminals lila however,are not normal to the surfaces of the bricks 5a, but incline withrespect to such surfaces. Fig. 3 illustrates another form of support forthe clips, the support comprising panels l2, formed of metal, and havingend anges i3 receiving rivets M for securing the panels one to another.Insulation l5 is interposed between the flanges on adjacent panels, andthe flanges I3 have retainer portions I6 serving to hold insulation I1and providing means for the attachment ,55

of a metal lath i8 to the inner surface of the wall formed of suchpanels.

Fig, 4 illustrates a clip I9 having arm 20 formed of spring steel andequipped with brick engaging means. The central portion or base of theclip is equipped with a pair of pliable arms 2| which extend throughapertures in a support 22. The arms El are bent around the edges of theapertures to attach the clip to the support. Fig. 5 illustrates anothermode of attaching a clip to a support, the clip 23 shown therein beingwelded at 24 to the support 25. Y

In Fig, 6 there is illustrated a panel 26 having clips 2l securedthereto in accordance with a predetermined pattern. This viewillustrates the applicability of the present device for supportingbricks in artistic patterns. For example, the bricks 28 are supported inan arch formation and are of tapered form. The bricks 29 are ofconventional form and are supported in an arch formation by the clips.This view also illustrates the use of different sized bricks, forexample, the bricks 3E! are of greater width than the other bricks.After the bricks have been assembled on the panel in the mannerdisclosedY the face of the panel and the voids between the bricks arecovered or filled with a plaster, such as stucco.

Fig. '7 illustrates a clip 3l of a form described above and having brickengaging terminals 32. In this form the terminals 32 are serrated asindicated at 33 so as to provide for engagement between the terminalsand bricks having small or local irregularities.

Fig. 8 illustrates a clip formed of comparatively heavy gauge metal andcomprising a base part 34 adapted to be secured by riveting, welding crintegral securing elements, as described above, to a supporting member.At the ends of the base 34 are formed raised arms 35 providing a seat 36for a brick 3l. The brick 3'! is held against the seat 35i by retainingmeans formed integral with the arms 35 and comprising obliquelyextending portions 3B having a slight amount of resiliency and havingintegral portions 39 bent inwardly at an acute angle with respectthereto. The angularity of the portions 39 is such that the edges oftheir end surfaces engage the adjacent surfaces of the brick 3'! so thatthere is a tendency for these sharp edges to cut into the surfaces ofthe brick and form a slight groove. Y

Each of the clips above described are adapted to be secured to a wall ora support prior to the insertion of a brick or facing element thereinand they are all proportioned so that their brick engaging parts arenormally spaced apart a distance slightly less than the width of thebrick they are adapted to receive. The bricks are forced into the clipsby exerting sufficient pressure on the bricks to spread the retainingparts thereon, the insertion of the bricks being facilitated by the factthat the outer surfaces of the parts which engage the bricks areangularly disposed so that their outer surfaces constitute guidingsurfaces which receive the pressure from the bricks being inserted toforce the retainers apart.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the numeral 40 designates me'- tallic strips securedto the wall 4l, a layer 42 of insulation being provided on the face ofthe wall to which the strips are secured. As illustrated in Fig. 10 thestrips are preferably provided with a lengthwise extending channelformation for stiffening purposes. Secured to the strips 4 are clips 43having resilient arms 44. Bricks or facing elements 45 are insertedbetween the arms of pairs of clips and are attached to the wall thereby.

The clips 43 in this form are secured to the strips liti by rivets 46,but as illustrated in Figs. 11, l2, and 13 the clips may be formedintegral with their support, in which case resilient arms 4l are struckout of the support 48 and are preferably provided with reinforcing webs49 which stiffen the same so that they are not too readily flexible tosupport the bricks.

Referring to Figs. 14 and l5 there is illustrated a panel 50 havingbricks 5I attached to its front face by clips 52. To the rear face ofthe panel channel members 53 are secured and they function to supportinsulation 54 with respect to the panel. Strips 55 are secured to thechannels 53 to provide a box formation for the purpose of rigidifyingthe panel.

As illustrated in Fig. 16 the clips may be directly attached to wallsheeting. In this illustration the clip 5b is secured to the sheeting 4bby a nail 3b, and when a plurality of such clips are employed in theformation of a wall they are spaced apart so that each brick of the wallis held by at least two clips. In this manner bricks may be frictionallyheld with respect to a preformed wall by means which is directlyattached thereto.

Although a specic embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed it will be understood that various changes may be made withinthe scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit ofthe invention, and such changes are contemplated.

What we claim is;-

l. In combination, a support, clip-s having resiliently yieldableretainer portions adapted to engage facing elements, and meansindividually attaching said clips to said sup-port in predeterminedspaced relation, said last named means comprising pliable arms integralwith the clips, the arms being extended through openings in the supportand being bent around the edges thereof.

2. A clip comprising a base portion adapted for attachment to asupport,V a pair' of resiliently flexible arms offset from the plane ofthe base and extending outwardly thereof, the outer ends of the armsbeing bent outwardly at an angle to the normal plane thereof, and theterminals of the outwardly bent ends being inwardly directed forengagement with a facing element.

3. A clip comprising a base portionadapted for attachment to a support,a pair of resiliently flexible arms offset from the plane of the baseand extending outwardly thereof, the outer ends of the arms being bentoutwardly at an angle to the normal plane thereof, and theterminals ofthe outwardly bent ends being inwardly directed for engagement with afacing element, the said terminal portions being disposed in a planeangular to a plane normal to the surfaces of the facing elements theyare adapted to engage.

4. A clip formed of spring metal comprising a pair of flexible arms, abase portion uniting said arms, the outer ends of said arms being bentand extending in a direction substantially normal to the plane of saidbase, and terminals of said outer endsv of said arms being bent inwardlyand consttuting retainer portions for engagement with a facing element.

5. A'clip formed of spring metal comprising a pair of exible arms, abase portion uniting said arms, the outer ends of said arms being bentand extending in a direction substantially normal to the plane of saidbase, and terminals of said outer ends of said arms being bent inwardlyand constituting retainer portions for engagement with a facing element,the plane of the outer surfaces of said retainer portions convergingwith respect to the plane of the base portion.

6. A wall unit comprising in combination, a metallic panel havingflanges thereon, said flanges having means for the reception of securingelements for securing one panel to another in a wall assembly,insulation retaining means supported by said flanges, a layer ofinsulation retained against said panel by said insulation retainingmeans, facing elements, and clip members secured to said panel andengaging said facing elements and attaching them to said panel.

7. A mosaic wall unit comprising in combination, a metallic panel, meansat the edges of said panel for the reception of securing means forsecuring one panel to another, said means having formations thereonforming insulation retaining means, a layer of insulation attached tosaid panel by said retaining means, facing elements, and clip memberssecured to said metallic panel and engaging said facing elements andsupporting them in mosaic arrangement on said panel.

8. In a wall, a support, a plurality of clips attached to said supportand adapted to connect parallel Vsurfaced bricks to said support, eachclip having resiliently yieldable portions, and smooth surfaced bricksengaged at opposite parallel sides by the resiliently yieldable portionsof the clips and frictionally attached thereby to said support, saidbricks being of a width greater than the normal space between saidyieldable portions whereby they are held through friction induced byinserting them therebetween.

9. In a wall, a support, a plurality of clips attached to said supportand adapted to connect parallel surfaced bricks to said support, eachclip having resiliently yieldable portions, and smooth surfaced bricksengaged by the resiliently yieldable portions of the clips andfrictionally attached thereby to said support, said clips being spacedapart a distance less than the length of a rbrick whereby each brick isengaged by a plurality of clips, and said bricks being of a widthgreater than the normal space between said yieldable portions wherebythey are held through friction induced by inserting them therebetween.

l0. In a wall, a support, a plurality of clips attached to said supportand adapted to connect parallel surfaced bricks to said support, eachclip having resiliently yieldable portions so disposed with respect tothe body thereof that they facilitate the insertion of brickstherebetween, smooth surfaced bricks inserted therebetween, said clipshaving portions which present a corner edge of the end surface thereoffor engagement with the smooth surfaces of said bricks, said corneredges being normally spaced apart a distance less than the width of thebricks whereby the latter are held by friction induced by inserting thembetween said edges.

ll. In a wall, a supp-ort, a plurality of clips attached to. saidsupport and adapted to` frictionally connect parallel surfaced bricks tosaid support, smooth surfaced bricks, each clip having resilientlyyieldable portions so disposed with respect to the body thereof thatthey facilitate the insertion of said bricks therebetween, said clipshaving portions which present a corner edge of the end surface thereoffor engagement with opposed smooth surfaces of said bricks, said clipsbeing spaced apart a distance less than the length of the bricks wherebyeach brick is engaged by a plurality of clips, and said corner edgesbeing normally spaced apart a distance less than the width of the brickswhereby the bricks are held by friction induced by inserting themvbetween said edges.

l2. In a wall, a support, a plurality of strips attached to saidsupport, resiliently yieldable clips attached to said strips in spacedapart relation, and smooth surfaced bricks received in said clips withopposite parallel surfaces of said bricks frictionally engaged by theclips and frictionally secured to the strips thereby, said strips beingspaced apart a distance less than the length of a brick whereby todispose a plurality of clips for engagement with each brick.

13. In a wall, a support, a plurality of clips, smooth parallel surfacedbricks, each clip having a relatively sharpi edge for engagement withsmooth surfaces of said bricks, and resiliently yieldable meanssupporting said sharp edges in a position for frictional engagement withsaid bricks, said resiliently yieldable means supporting said sharpedges spaced apart a distance less than the width of the facing elementswhereby resilient pressure developed by deforming said resilient meansby insertion of bricks into the clips presses said sharp edges intoengagement with the surfaces of the bricks.

EUGENE WALLACE. DAVID A. WALLACE.

